Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Toyota Corolla owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
My mother got in the car and as soon as the car was put on drive, the car accelerated to its max potential, but when she attempted to hit the brakes they did not respond. So max acceleration, on its own, and brakes did not work. She ended up in the hospital for 9 days suffering a broken rib, front teeth missing, they had to sew her tongue back together, both cheeks shattered, broken clavicle and she has a hole right under the back of her skull. Miraculously, after she flipped to the side and took out two trees, the third tree flipped her back to right side up, and stopped the vehicle completely.
My car is accelerating when my foot is off of the pedal and when in park, it is revving like I am pressing down on the gas pedal. I put it in reverse to test it to make sure I was experiencing what I just thought had happened. As soon as I put the gear in reverse, and released my foot from the break, the car spead down my driveway. I breaked, put gear in drive, and when I released my foot from the break pedal, again it sped up almost crashing into my house. When I put the car in park, the engine became louder as if I was pressing down on the gas pedal. I checked the pedals below. The rug or nothing else was near the pedal, as can happen at times. This morning I tested it out again on my way to work. It was a repeat of yesterday. The car is speeding up without me putting my foot on the drive pedal, by me simply lifting my foot of of the break. …
We were parked in a parking lot. My wife got into the car, put her foot on the brake to take the car out of park, and put the car in reverse. The car accelerated rapidly backward with the engine revving and no effect from the brakes, and hit a pole. With the engine still racing, my wife then put the car in drive, still with her foot on the brake, and it sped forward running into the back of a pickup truck. The engine was racing and there was no effect with pushing on the brake. The pickup truck was pushed forward about a foot hitting a guard rail in the front of the parking space.
I was parking at about 3 MPH, took my foot off the accelerator pedal and pressed down on the brake pedal to slowly ease the car to a stop at the parking spot. The vehicle jolted forward and accelerated. I hit a pole and the vehicle sustained terrible frontend damage. I have a 2003 Toyota Corolla and it is over 188,000 miles.
I was driving along the street when I got hit by a car traveling opposite direction, person hit ne on a green light but besudes that my syspension brakes and tires not sitting right, I also I hear chains the car doesnt drive straight and car seems lopsided when driven and breaks squeel
On November 16, 2010, while trying to park my Toyota Corolla 2003, the vehicle accelerated unintentionally crashing into a fence continued by crashing into some wooden pallets. I am the original owner of the car. My daughter a few weeks before noticed that the car will stay accelerated to a minimum of 1800rpm. The air bags were not activated and I did not received major injury. My neck was hurting for a while. I was lucky because there were two propane tanks following the fence. My son notified Toyota in puerto rico and filed a complaint #cr12287. He was told that my car was not included in the recalls because it did not have an electronic fuel control unit and that the gas in my car operated by a cable. The auto shop mechanics that repaired all the front damage of the car noticed the car accelerator too high. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. While driving at speeds of 45 MPH, the cruise control light illuminated. She was unable to deactivate the cruise control since the rpms began increasing excessively. The vehicle abnormally accelerated and would not stop despite her attempts to apply the brakes. The contact was able to shift into neutral gear and continue to apply the brakes. There was smoke present in the vehicle as it began to decrease in speed to 15 MPH. Since the contact was unable to stop the vehicle, she then jumped from the drivers side as the vehicle proceeded and plowed into a snow bank before stopping. The vehicle sustained substantial body damage. The dealer stated that the transmission was destroyed due to her shifting into neutral gear from the park position. …
My 2003 Toyota Corolla le which was purchased in 2003 had a acceleration problem, I took it to the oakbrook Toyota while it was still under warranty and was told that it was all in my head and moreover the electronics for this function was factory installed and there was nothing the dealer could do with it. This was the last time I went to this dealer.the car would accelerate from 500 RPM to 2000 RPM in idle this would lurch the car forward and the only way I could drive this car was to change the ceramics brake pads every 10000 miles. In 2007 the car lurched forward at a traffic light and broke the rear bumper of a Hyundai santas fe and cracked my bumper too I tried to explain to the police officer that I was stopped and suddenly the car lurched forward, it did not help I was given a ticket and told to tell my story to the judge, luckily the lady I hit did not show up in court and I …
My 2003 Toyota corrola (odometer reading approx. 230,000 miles) never had this problem till this year around March when my wife noticed that the car suddenly accelarated and she couldn't reduce the speed by braking. Fortunately there was no accident, and the problem went away suddnely as it came. This thing happened twice afterwards the car was taken to sears auto center, natick, ma and they cleaned a dirty throttle. The problem went away till three days ago the problem came back. I was driving this time in broad daylight with medium traffic. Suddenly the car started accelarating and I couldn't reduce accelaration by braking. I cleared the floor mat area in case there was any blockage. But there was none, and the car kept on accelarating. It scared the wits out of me, and I had to stop the car by moving the gear to 'park'. I intend to take the car back to sears auto. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 Toyota Corolla. While slightly depressing the accelerator pedal at traffic light, there was a sudden increase in the engine rpms as the engine became louder than usual. The vehicle abnormally accelerated suddenly and crashed into a curb. The contact could not maintain control or stop the vehicle. The vehicle proceeded to accelerate up hill, crashing into a tree and immediately rolled over three times from the force of impact. The contact was injured. When the vehicle finally came to a stop, the engine was still exhibiting high rpms and the unusually loud noise. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current was 45,000.
Acceleration complaints in other Corolla years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2003 Toyota Corolla?
NHTSA has 77 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2003 Toyota Corolla, 11% of the model year's 720 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Toyota Corolla acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2003 Toyota Corolla, though it has 9 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Toyota Corolla acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 65,000 miles, and 27% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 25 crashes, 1 fire and 18 injuries to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.